Chapter 948

“Taiyi Tianzun? Is this the one who defeated the Purple Dragon Yao Shen?”

The moment Li Yi appeared, he immediately drew the attention of countless Yao Wang and great demons; even the Golden Crow Yao Shen cast a cold gaze his way—she could tell this man was the leader of Earth’s side, with all the top experts clustering around him, showing him great respect.

Yet, one who could defeat the Purple Dragon Yao Shen outright truly deserved such treatment.

“That’s Li Yi—damn it! How did he recover from his injuries so fast? This healing ability is even more terrifying than a Yao Shen’s. What the hell is his body made of? I saw with my own eyes how the Purple Dragon Yao Shen pierced his chest and split his body in half—how could he be fine so soon?”

“Indeed, the Purple Dragon Yao Shen failed to kill him last time, letting him rise from the ashes again. A warrior of this caliber, as long as he isn’t truly killed, recovers quickly—it was such a shame before.”

The Yao Wang gnashed their teeth, some even felt heartbroken.

Because they had truly had a golden chance to kill Li Yi—if Earth lost such a top-tier warrior, they would be at a severe disadvantage in the coming war.

Now, not only is he alive, but he’s healed so quickly and reappeared—this is a massive blow to the Yao Shen realm.

He is not unharmed. Taiyi Tianzun exhausted his cultivation base to defeat the Purple Dragon Yao Wang, paying a heavy price—his combat power has already dropped from the Yao Shen realm; now he’s only strong enough to defeat a Yao Wang, with no chance to face a Yao Shen.

The Golden Crow Yao Shen remained silent, merely scanning him.

“But don’t be too hasty—there’s still a significant portion of divine power left within him. If that divine power is fully expended, he might not regain the ability to fight a Yao Shen anytime soon.”

Then she showed a hint of wariness.

Even though Li Yi can no longer fight a Yao Shen, if pushed to the brink and he unleashes everything, he’ll still cause the Yao Shen some serious headaches.

Though the Golden Crow Yao Shen didn’t believe he’d dare do such a thing, his mere presence on the battlefield was an invisible deterrent.

Of course, this wasn’t because she had discerned Li Yi’s true state—Xiangxiangzi and Xuan Yuezi nearby also knew Li Yi was extremely weak; though his physical wounds had healed, his foundation was damaged, and his combat power was far from its peak.

And this was even with the blessing of incense power—if that incense power were removed, his strength would drop further.

Burning divine blood to gain peak combat power far beyond normal limits was no cheap price to pay.

Yet under these circumstances, Xiangxiangzi and Xuan Yuezi both understood without speaking—let the enemy guess whether Li Yi was strong or weak; all they needed to know was that Taiyi Tianzun, the one who defeated the Purple Dragon Yao Shen, still stood, his wounds healed, and still capable of fighting.

Li Jiye, not far away, also cast a look of concern, but on the battlefield, neither side could say much.

Li Yi looked toward his father and smiled, giving him a reassuring glance.

Li Jiye sighed inwardly—he never imagined that after just a short time apart, Li Yi had stirred up such a storm, leading a group of powerful warriors to the Yao Shen realm for revenge. Though it was satisfying, the cost was immense.

“Seeing that Taiyi Tianzun is unharmed, I’m relieved.”

Dongji Tianzun also bowed, gazing at Li Yi with admiration, and immediately perceived the path ahead for his cultivation.

To manifest the Three Flowers with a divine body, open the body’s acupoints, contain magic power, and evolve one’s form—this was unprecedented, with no successors to follow.

Had it not been for the Purple Dragon Yao Shen’s interruption.

In the future, Li Yi merely needed to refine for some years; once he manifested the Three Flowers, he would become an extraordinary being. Now that his foundation was damaged, if he could restore it, that would be best—if not, his future attainment would inevitably be imperfect.

“Just minor injuries—nothing serious,” Li Yi nodded slightly. “Thank you, Dongji Tianzun, for your assistance.”

“I merely did what any would do,” Dongji Tianzun smiled. “I only killed a few dozen Yao Wang—nothing compared to what Taiyi Tianzun accomplished.”

Though he claimed it was nothing, he revealed his own achievements, making sure Li Yi knew he hadn’t slacked off, to avoid any ill will between them.

Li Yi said: “I never expected so many Yao Wang were lying dormant in the Yao Shen realm. When three Yao Wang led a host of great demons to invade Earth, they crushed Earth’s cultivators without resistance. If dozens of Yao Wang had come back then, there’d be no today’s battle.”

“So when you do something, you must do it thoroughly—leave no lingering threats, or the consequences will be endless.”

“I think the same,” Dongji Tianzun smiled slightly.

He had crossed over with no roots here, and now he’d made a powerful enemy in the Yao Shen realm—he naturally wanted to eradicate this realm, reestablish his Dao lineage, and seek the Great Dao. If he didn’t handle this properly, he’d spend his days constantly guarding against Yao Shen realm retaliation.

“Li Yi, your aura has weakened considerably. If another major battle comes, we can channel the collective fortune into you to help restore your cultivation and regain Yao Shen-level combat power.”

At that moment, Wang Chengjun suddenly transmitted a message. Li Yi immediately turned to the five military elites and frowned in surprise, replying mentally: “Why the sudden change in plan? Weren’t we agreed that you five would merge?”

“Because we five have no experience fighting Yao Shen. Though your power has weakened, your physique is astonishing—channeling the fortune into you is more stable. Besides, you’ve already experienced fortune infusion once when fighting Yao Wang, so coordination will be easier,” Wang Chengjun said.

“I see,” Li Yi nodded inwardly—the argument made sense.

Though the five military elites merging had confidence to oppose a Yao Shen, it was still less reliable than him—he’d only lost power, but his Golden Skin and Jade Bones foundation remained intact; he could still bear the fortune’s force and fight a Yao Shen without issue.

“If all five of you agree, and the Earth high command approves, then do it,” Li Yi did not reject the proposal.

After all, the fortune infusion wouldn’t harm him—it would harm Wang Chengjun, Li Weiguo, and the others.

And battlefield conditions changed in an instant—having direct control over power was better.

“We’ve already explained the situation—the high command has fully approved,” Wang Chengjun said. “Since you have no objections, it’s settled.”

“Alright,” Li Yi replied, and his confidence slightly returned.

Fortune cultivation was a powerful method—fortune infusion could boost power irrationally, like incense cultivation, a shortcut to growth. But bound by this world’s limits, fortune vanished upon crossing realms—unless, like Li Yi, one opened a dimensional gate to channel power from another world.

Yet speaking of fortune, Taiyi Guoshi Li Yi hadn’t appeared publicly in the incense world for a long time—the incense power was running low.

Or perhaps the incense world’s incense had reached its upper limit—unless his father Li Jiye further developed the people’s livelihood, increased population, and strengthened the nation’s power, Li Yi might still glean a bit more incense.

Of course, there was another way: Li Yi could rebel and become emperor himself, monopolizing all the incense of the realm.

But Li Yi felt that both incense power and fortune power were temporary tools—not worth spending time cultivating alongside his true path. He should stick to his own cultivation.

“An hour is almost up. It seems the Golden Crow Yao Shen was exaggerating—the third Yao Shen hasn’t appeared,” Dongji Tianzun spoke now, trying to provoke the enemy, to see if they had any other tricks.

If all went as expected, he would unhesitatingly join Earth’s side to slay the last Yao Shen and win this war.

But the Golden Crow Yao Shen remained calm: “You’re overconfident. You’ll soon regret giving me an hour to awaken the third Yao Shen. Had you struck forcefully earlier, I might not have been your match.”

“It seems Earth’s reserves are insufficient—after Taiyi Tianzun was severely wounded, you alone cannot hold the line.”

Dongji replied: “Words are useless. If the third Yao Shen still doesn’t appear today, I’ll send you, this golden crow, to your death.”

“Is that so?” The Golden Crow Yao Shen sneered.

Soon.

The Yao Shen continent, long silent, trembled again—this quake came from deep within the earth, as if some ancient being, buried for countless ages, had awakened, stirring its body, ready to burst forth.

Hm?

This sudden change left everyone stunned.

“Could there truly be a third Yao Shen?” Dongji Tianzun thought inwardly.

Li Yi beside him also frowned—he clearly sensed a Yao Shen force rising from deep beneath the earth.

But this Yao Shen force felt deeply wrong—not vibrant like the Purple Dragon Yao Shen’s, but lifeless, decayed, as if a rotting corpse had been revived by some power.

“Could it be an ancient Yao Shen, on the verge of death, awakened?” Li Yi wondered.

Yet this disturbance filled the remaining Yao Wang with excitement and joy.

“Ha! The third Yao Shen is appearing! I knew the Golden Crow Yao Shen wouldn’t lie—she said there was a third, so there must be one!”

“This power level—no mistake. It’s truly a Yao Shen emerging, and an ancient one at that.”

“I feel my Yao Wang blood stirring—this must be the legendary Qilin Yao Shen. I’m a descendant of Qilin bloodline—this Yao Shen aura is resonating with my blood.”

The Yao Wang chattered and laughed loudly, thinking Earth’s people were fools for letting the Golden Crow Yao Wang awaken this ancient Yao Shen so easily.

Dongji Tianzun wasn’t foolish—he simply knew that even if he attacked within an hour, he couldn’t kill the Golden Crow Yao Shen.